Erdogan: Ankara may become intermediary in settlement of Kerch Strait row

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had discussed the possibility of Ankara becoming an intermediary in the settlement of the crisis that followed the incident in the Kerch Strait with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"During our conversation with Mr Putin, we have discussed this issue from different angles, including whether we can take on a role of an intermediary in the light of what is currently happening between Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea. We have discussed what can be done on this issue," Sputnik cited Erdogan as saying.

The Turkish leader added he would continue discussing the Kerch Strait incident during his planned talks with Putin and Trump on the sidelines of the high-level forum in Buenos Aires, which is scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin said that Putin and Erdogan had discussed by phone the recent incident involving Russia and Ukraine. On the same day, the White House said that the Turkish president had held phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on the naval incident in the Kerch Strait. Erdogan also discussed the situation with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko.